Tomlin Looks Forward to Opener

Sunday marks the official beginning of Mike Tomlin’s second year as head coach for the Steelers and it will bring with it proof of how truly difficult the team’s schedule will be this year. Read more

Tomlin’s rhetoric cranks up Steelers

The Steelers’ transformation, in coach Mike Tomlin’s estimation, from a team that had been “enduring” training camp into one that was suddenly “enjoying” it didn’t occur without a little prompting.
Tomlin sensed as much was necessary after observing a Monday morning workout that suggested his team was stuck in neutral, or, as Tomlin put it, “in survival mode.”

“He gave a little speech (Monday) morning after practice,” nose tackle Chris Hoke said. “He said, ‘Hey, listen, let’s start thriving and not surviving in this camp. Let’s get to work.’

“I think (Monday) afternoon guys were trying to buy into it a little bit.”

The Steelers were so crisp and enthusiastic in that Monday afternoon session that Tomlin suspected a “threshold” might have been crossed.
Tuesday’s scheduled festivities, especially last evening’s practice at St. Vincent College, offered “spirited” confirmation, especially a second live goal-line drill that was “much better” than the one the Steelers had conducted Sunday.

Still, the response from Tomlin was more prodding.

“It’s easy to come out here and have a great time and compete when you know you have ‘goal line’ at the end,” Tomlin said. “We’ll see what the dog days are like (today) when there’s a less attractive drill waiting at the end of practice.”

Full Story: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The Man, Coach Tomlin has Become

The offensive line appeared to be suspect even before it lost perennial Pro Bowler Alan Faneca to free agency. Read more

Second Season to Test Tomlin

Chuck Noll went 1-13 in his first year as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coach. Bill Cowher started his Steelers coaching career with an 11-5 record.

Mike Tomlin went 10-6 in his debut on the Pittsburgh sidelines.

Those numbers really don’t mean anything.

Everyone knows what Noll and Cowher went on to accomplish.

Noll was a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame after transforming the Steelers from NFL patsy to a four-time Super Bowl winner.

Cowher, meanwhile, averaged 10 wins in 15 seasons and probably landed his ticket in Canton, Ohio, by turning an 11-5 showing in 2005 to a Super Bowl victory as the wild card.

Tomlin, however, has a long way to go before he can be compared to his two predecessors.

For starters, Tomlin won’t have a cake schedule in 2008 as was the case in his rookie campaign.

The Steelers beat only two teams with winning records last year when they swept their two AFC North games with Cleveland and downed Seattle.

The Steelers’ other seven wins came against teams which finished with a combined 28-68.

If that weren’t bad enough one of the Steelers’ losses was in overtime to the New York Jets. which won only three other games. The Steelers needed a field goal to drop the 1-15 Dolphins, 3-0, in the rain on a Monday night.

The Steelers’ reward for winning the AFC North title in 2007 was one of the NFL’s toughest schedules.

The Steelers have to face the six teams considered at the top of the power rankings: New England, Indianapolis, San Diego, Dallas, Jacksonville and the New York Giants.

If that’s not enough to worry about, Cleveland is tabbed as the AFC North favorite by some of the so-called NFL experts.

Tomlin’s first season was a bit misleading since the Steelers were 7-2 after nine games and closed with four losses in their last five contests.

It didn’t help that the NFL’s leading rusher at the time, Willie Parker, broke his leg in the opening minutes of the next-to-last regular season game at St. Louis and defensive end Aaron Smith missed the final four games with injuries.

Drafting Rashard Mendenhall first was a safeguard in case Parker goes down, but the Steelers didn’t strengthen the defensive line by either the draft or free agency.

If Smith, Casey Hampton or Brett Keisel gets hurt, the Steelers are in serious trouble.

The same goes for Ben Roethlisberger on offense.

Without Roethlisberger, the Steelers aren’t going anywhere.

Tomlin Goes Extra Mile for Charity

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin put down the pigskin and picked up his golf clubs for charity.

He hosted the 11th Annual Extra Mile Education Foundation Golf Outing at Nevillewood.

The event raises money for inner-city kids to give them a chance to have a Catholic education to help them achieve their dreams.

Tomlin says he was inspired to get involved with the program.

“When I was apart of it last year and really my first exposure to it, when that young man got up and talked about how the Extra Mile helped him, and gave his living testimony, that’s all you need to hear,” he said.

The charity has been in existence for 19 years.

Tomlin Shares Advice

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was a huge hit when he hosted the All Pro Dad Father & Kids Experience will be held at Heinz Field.

Founded by Family First, the All Pro Dad fatherhood program helps to educate fathers on the best ways to become an “All Pro Dad.” Fathers brought their children to the event, where they learned fatherhood tips and participated in special activities with their kids, while rotating through football-themed learning stations which will be located in the Coca-Cola Great Hall.

“Thousands of men in Pittsburgh and around the world are becoming better husbands and fathers by joining our All Pro Dad team,” said Tomlin. “To become an All Pro Dad, we encourage men to spend one minute a day reading our free daily email, The Play of the Day, one hour a month participating in an All Pro Dad’s Day breakfast, and one day a year taking part in our All Pro Dad Father and Kids Experience.”

Full Story: TOMLIN SHARES ADVICE AT ALL-PRO DAD

Tomlin Offers Pep Talk

No talk of spygate. No prospectus on the coming season. Instead, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin delivered a pep talk for “the game of life” Saturday at St. Vincent College in Unity. Read more

Tomlin: One season into his new job

A veteran network television executive, attending another in a long line of annual NFL meetings for him, strolled past a table near the hotel pool, where two young head coaches chatted. Read more

Tomlin Offers Surprising Prediction

EBay and the rising Cleveland Browns were among the topics that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin discussed with reporters Tuesday Read more

Tomlin Commencement Speaker

Pittsburgh Steelers first-year head coach Mike Tomlin will be the keynote speaker at the 162nd annual commencement of Saint Vincent College Read more

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